Ventilating device



Aug. 30, 1932. CLAY' 1,874,083

- VENTILATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 16, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug? 1932- J. B. CLAY I 1,874,083.

VENTILATING-DEVICE Filed Nov. 16, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 section Patented Aug. 30, 1932 JosErn'B. CLAY, or CEDAR TION, or CEDAR FALLS, 10m, essrenon T0 CLAY nam'riennroonronnrents, Iowa, A oon-ronerion OFIOWA vnn'rrnarnve Davies 7 V Application-filed November 16, 1927.. Serial No. 233,664.

My invention belongs to that general class of devices known as ventilators and relates more particularly to a ventilator device which will control the admission of air from-the exterior of the structure to the interior thereof. The invention has among its objects the production of a device of the kind described that is simple, inexpensive, compact, reliable, efiicient and satisfactory for use jwherever found applicable. More particularly the;

invention has among its objects the production of a simple and efficient device for controlling the admission of incoming air currents so as to maintain a substantially uniform flow in the desired direction and automatically prevent any reversal of theflow. The device has as another ob ect the production of a mechanism of the kind described that is substantial in construction and will not easily get out of order or become disarranged and yet is extremely sensitive to slight variations in the air current. The inventionl has as a further object theproductionof a,

device of the-kind described which ,mays be readily installedin new or old structures with 1 a minimum of labor and expense. -More especially it has as an ob ect the production of a device which Will maintain. aneven flow of air into the room although suction from a the ventilator heads and wind pressure outdoors may vary, the volume being maintained substantially constant. Many other ob. ects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those. skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given. V

To this end my lnventlonconslsts in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described I v damper member which substantially .constl- Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a structure illustrating the ventilating device in use;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of :aportion of'the samecorresponding with the taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

' Fig. 3 is a view in elevation taken substan-,

trated is constructed members 16 are secured 'fromend. to end of the casing.

tiallyonline 3-3 of Fig. 2, a portion of the same :broken away to more. clearly show the construction l Fig. .4 is asecti'onal view of a portion of a modified damper controltaken substantially on lined- 4: of Fig. 5 i

Fig, 5 is a. view in elevation of the same; V

of ,end walls 1'1, top 2, bottom?) and side walls 4: and5; here the device .is' tobefinably or" a length to extend between adjacent rafters 88, the structure being provided withthe roof9 and sheathing or ceiling .10. providing a conduit Ghaving its inlet 7 at the exteriorofthe buiding. The casing as illusformed and theparts secured together bygthe unitarystructure. The one side of the .top 2 is preferably extended as at 11 and overlies the top side of the ceiling 10 to which it may gbe secured, a corrugation or bead 12 being providedto facilitateben'ding the part .11 to shape, as well as stiffening thesame from end to end, thestiflening preventing any sagging orbendingof thetop sheet 2. The same may be further secured to the rafters 8 by nails, screws or bolts 13. As most clearly shownin F 2, the same 153 fitted into the space with the outer edge of the top contacting with the stalled in the roof of a structure, it is prefer s of sheet metal suitably,

in'sideof the roof 9 and the partition or side 4': in contact with the edge of the opening theceiling 10.

Arranged within the casing is ,a suspended tutes a valve which I generally prefer toconstruct of aluminum or light material solthat its movement, the same being hung or hinged 1 inplace so that it moves easily. As shown, to the top and extend These :members carry straps 17 constructed .to extend through the slots 18 in the damper,

the same I j weight of the damper but which isnot sufiicient to cause the same to tilt. The damper may be stiffened by a flange 20 at the bottom if so desired. Obviously the damper may be so constructed and counter-weighted I that while it normally hangs in a vertical position its own weight is substantially without effect on its operation and the knife edge construction causes it to respond to a slight current of air in either. direction.

At the inlet side of the casing, wall 4 is preferably provided with a felt or other strip 21 constituting a damper seat which may be maintainedv in place by bending the top of the wall over and back as indicated at 22-23. When the damper swings into engagement with the same, a good seal is secured and at the same time the operation is noiseless. The opposite Wall 5 is also preferably turned over as indicated at 24 to stiffen the edge of the wall.

When the damper is hanging substantially as shown in Fi 2, the full opening through the casing is'eftective. A resilient stop 26 is provided for preventing the closing of the damper and entirely shutting 01? the admission of the incoming air. The construction is such that should the volume of incoming air increase and the pressure tend to close the damper 15 by moving thesame toward the wall 5, its movement will be opposed by the spring 26, but obviously the greater the air pressure the smaller the openingbetween the damper and the wall 5 so that there is a reduction in the air admitted, preventing the admission of an excessive volume of air. The volume of air admitted is therefore substantially constant regardless of conditions outside of the structure. n

There is also provided a mechanism for closing the damper and maintaining it in its closed position or such intermediate position as may be desired. Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, 2728 representsan arm which may be provided with the crank 29 30. The arm is pivotally secured to the flange 24 and to the outside of the wall 5 by a bracket or clip 31. I have illustrated in Fig. 2 in the dotted lines how the arm 27 may be swung inwardly from the position shown in the full lines so as to close the damper 15 and maintain it in its closed position. x

In Fig. l I have illustrated a screen 3 arranged at the outer end of the flue 6 so that birds, rodents or the like are kept out.

. In Figs. 4 and'5 I have illustrated a modified form of stop for the damper, the same in this instance consisting of weights 35 and 37 suspended by'the links 36, these being so arranged that they will be cumulative in their action as the damper swings inwardly.

Obviously this construction is the equivalent of the spring 26 previously described; In Fig. 6 I have illustrated another embodiment of the invention adapted to be placed; at oneof the side walls of the struc- *'ture and more particularly-adapted for use in a two-story structure. Referring to this figure, 41 represents siding or the like arranged at the exterior of the studding 40, while 42 represents'an inner wall. case the joists 43 extend laterally from the studdi'ng,'44 and 45 representing floor and ceiling respectively, and with the joists forming an air passageway. The ventilator casing is made up of the walls 46, 47 and 48 so as to provide the damper chamber 49. The side and top walls 46 and 47 preferably extend to the exterior, the top being turned down to form a shield as indicated at 50, 51 i being a screen at the opening. The space below the intake between thestudding is closedby the plate or wall 52. As shown 53 represents a damper similar" to that previously described;

Assuming that the ventilator is installed substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the air may pass through the screen 33 up the flue 6 and into and through the ventilator under the damper 15. .The damper being bal- I anced and supported on substantially a knife edge and also being of comparatively light weight, is extremely sensitive. For normal In this conditions it will hang substantially as shown in Fig. 2. If the volume of air increases ow-, ing to the great suction from the ventilator heads and wind pressure outdoors, the

damper will move slightly toward the inside,

thereby maintaining a more or less constant volume of air, and this is true as the same continues to move until it is moved some distance, the resilient stop 26, however, preventing it from moving to its closed position. The spring control holds the damper just enough to permit suflicient volume of air into the building, regardless of the air velocity outdoors. Should there be any back pressure for any reason, the damper will immediately move toward the outer side and there being no resilient stop on that side, the same may move to its closed position in engagement with the seat or felt bumper, shutting on the back current entirely. The, device is auto-' matic in operation and practically noiseless.

The construction shown in Fig. 6' will operate in the same manner, regulating the air current and preventing back flow. The de- Vice is exceedingly simple, of light weight and inexpensive to manufacture. wise readily installed by inexperienced help.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention, hence I do not wish to be understood as limit.-

t is like-.

ing myself to the eXact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a ventilating device of the kind described and in combination, a casing having an inlet and outlet, a damper suspended between said inlet and outlet and operatively movable to normally control the air passing through the casing from said inlet to said'outlet and prevent a reversal of direction of the normal flow of the air, and resilient means with which said damper engages upon movement of the damper for controlling the damper to regulate the normal flow.

2. A ventilator of the kind described in cluding a sheet metal casing provided with an air inlet and outlet and having one wallextended to provide an attaching member, a vertically depending swinging damper and means for pivotally supporting said damper adjacent its top edge, means above the sup port for counter-balancing the lower part of a the damper below its support, resilient means with which said damper engages upon movement of the damper for controlling the damper and automatically maintaining a substantially uniform discharge of air through said outlet, and a damper seat in the casing arranged to cooperate with the damper to close the said inlet upon a reversal of the air current through the casing.

3. A ventilator of the kind described in combination, a casing having an air inlet and outlet, a damper located in said casing between the inlet and outlet, said damper being mounted to swing and thereby regulate the passage of air through said outlet, means extending from said casing into the path of movement of said damper for applying a yieldable and increasing resistance after-a.

predetermined movement of said damper in one direction, said free of said resistance in the opposite direction to prevent reversal of direction of the normal flow of the air.

4. A ventilator of the kind described in combination, a casing having an air inlet and outlet, a damper located in said casing between the inlet and outlet, saiddamper being mounted to swing and thereby regulate the passage of air through said outlet, a leaf spring having one end secured to the casing and extending therefrom into the path of movement of the damper for applying a re sistance after a predetermined movement of said damper in one direction, said damper being movable free of said resistance in the opposite direction to prevent reversal of direction of the normal flow of the air.

5. A ventilator of the kind described in-, cluding a sheet metal casing provided with an air inlet and outlet, a damper and means for supporting said damper adjacent its top damper being movable edge, means for balancing the damper on its support, means spaced from the damper and extending into the path of movement of the damper, said means providing means for yieldingly opposing the operation of the damper to automatically control the discharge of air through said outlet, and means cooperating with the damper for closing the normal air inlet upon a reversal of the air current.

6. In a ventilating device of the kind described and in combination, a casing having an inlet and outlet, a damper mounted between said inlet and outlet and operatively movable to normally control the air passing through the casing from said inlet to said outlet and prevent a reversal of direction of the normal flow of air and a resilient element for resisting movement of the damper to regulate the flow, said resilient element and said damper providing means for varying the point of application of said resilient element to said damper to thereby provide a variable increasing resistance to movement of said damper.

7 In a ventilating device of the kind described and in combination, a casing having an inlet and outlet, a damper mounted between said inletand outlet and operatively movable to normally control the air passing through the casing from said inlet to said outlet and preventing a reversal of direction of the normal flow of air and an element with which said damper engages upon movement of the damper for controlling the damper to regulate the normal flow, said damper and element providing means for varying the point of application of said element to said damper to thereby provide means for variably increasing resistance to movement of said damper.

8. In a ventilating device of the kind described and in combination, a casing having an inlet and outlet, a damper mounted between said inlet and outlet and operatively movable to normally control the air passing through the casing from said inlet to said outlet and preventing a reversal of direction of the normal flow of air and an element with which said damper engages upon movement of the damper for controlling the damper to regulate the normal flow, said damper and element providing means for varying the point of application of said element to said damper to thereby provide means for variably increasing resistance to movement of said signed my name.v

JOSEPH B. CLAY. 

